"Remind me, Skyguy, why are you bringing two 'slaves'?" Ahsoka asked as she watched Rex get attacked by a droid.

"Because I learnt the last time that we separated you two, that very undesirable consequences happen," Anakin sighed, "so going with a pair of mated slaves, one of which being a 'mix-slave' would work instead - both being desirable and keeping you two together."

"And how would you pass Rex of as a 'mix-slave'?" Ahsoka asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

Instead of answering, Anakin pointed for Ahsoka to look over at Rex.

Rex had fake white markings running all over his skin, the most noticeable being on his forehead—white Jaig eyes like the blue ones on his helmet. When he opened his mouth, Ahsoka could see that two fake fangs had been placed, much like the ones she has.

What ruined the appearance was the large metal collar around his neck along with the metal bands that run around his arms and legs. Across his chest and upper legs was a tight white fabric keeping some of the man's dignity intact. From the bands on the arms and legs was a range of different blue silks.

"I don't like either of these outfits," Ahsoka stated to Anakin.

"Slavers like to show their power and wealth through their slaves. The more expensive the parts on the slave, the 'greater' the slaver," Anakin hissed. "You have cloaks you can wear until we are in the presence of the queen anyway."

-----

"Is he trying to get into her pants?" Rex muttered.

Ahsoka felt her lips twitch, "you'd think having the Senator would be enough."

"Now, let's have a look at these slaves," the queen stated, "you say they're mated?"

"Yes," Anakin nodded, "one is a purebred, the other a mix-slave."

"A mix-slave?" The queen checked, "those are rare, worth a fortune."

"Only the best would do, for you, Your Majesty," Anakin stated.

"Both are fine specimens," the queen commented.

"Don't touch me," Ahsoka hissed, pulling her arms away.

Anakin quickly struck his whip on the floor, preventing Rex from jumping at the queen instead of just growling.

"They'll need to be processed," the queen sighed.

"I heard double the pleasure comes from breaking a mated pair down to slaves," Anakin soothed.

"That is true; I'm sure that the processors will have fun with these two," the queen grinned, "come, let us talk."

-----

"I've always wondered about what a purebred and a mix-slave could have for their offspring. These two could prove quite the research project," the queen commented, "have you ever wondered, Lars?"

"No, I have not wondered into the lives of slaves," Anakin stated.

"Yes, I suppose so," the queen mused, "we are superior to them, we have no need of wondering about them who bow to us. After all, it is what they are born to do, kneel and serve their masters."

Anakin caught the wrist of the slave at a hairs width from the queen's neck. He twisted her wrist, snatching the weapon and throwing her to the floor. He felt like screaming at how she had to be treated, but he had to keep up with his appearance.

"You dare raise a hand against your master?" The queen hissed, "clearly you require further processing."

The slave panicked, moving to stand on the edge of the balcony, "no! I won't go back there!"

Anakin dove forwards to late, the slave falling and dying against the floor.

"Such a waste," the queen tutted, "but perhaps she was more trouble than she was worth. But you Lars, are proving to be quite resourceful."

Rex and Ahsoka shared a look; something was going to go wrong.

-----

"Teach the Jedi his place."

Anakin felt the words ring in his head as he walked down the stairs towards the ring.

"Whip the Jedi! Whip the Jedi!"

It felt like the galaxy was screaming down on him. He barely heard the options the queen gave him. But he struck out with the whip, ripping the blaster from the guard's hands. His hands grasped his and Obi-Wan's lightsabers, doing quick work of those already in the ring. "Ahsoka, the queen!"

The queen stared on with almost pity as the slave girl activated a lightsaber and the other grabbing a blaster. She waited until the two were facing her when she pressed the button, the electricity coursing through them.

The queen stared as Anakin was the only one left standing, whips around his legs, arms and neck, yet he didn't fall. "Such determination," she whispered, watching as he finally fell to the restraints.

-----

Ahsoka was the one that woke first. She blinked at her surroundings. She was locked in a cage suspended in the air. Her neck was sore, almost crackling from the burns. The room was dark and dank, like a dungeon room.

She heard a grunt, and looking over; she saw that Rex was being held in a similar inclosure to her. He was tied up and held in place, the fabric around his upper body looked to have been torn away, leaving him in fabric shorts and silks.

"Your mate proved quite a problem," came a voice, "he woke on several occasions, we resorted to whips and restraints. His screams were almost music."

Ahsoka could not help but jump forward in a hiss, the cage-rattling around her.

"Seems you too are feisty and protective," the person commented, "such fine specimens, perfect to be broken by my whip."

Rex grunted as the cage floor went beneath him, his restraints taking a second too long to let go, leaving him suspended in the air. His eyes landed on the prone form of Ahsoka as she started to push herself to her feet. He scrambled over, standing protectively in front of her.

His back screamed at him as the man's whip rained down on him, but he focused on making sure nothing was going to hit Ahsoka.

"No! Stop!" Ahsoka shouted.

"A slave dares to tell me what to do?!" The man roared in anger, his whip flying harder against Rex's back. "Beg! Beg for you master! A beast like you should only say a few words, and only in that of begging their master!"

Ahsoka felt her throat dry as Rex shouted out, the electric whips triggering the collar on his neck. "Please, please stop, master!" She begged, not wanting Rex to be hit anymore.

The man was smug when he stopped, watching as Rex collapsed, his arms not able to support his weight anymore.

"I'm sorry, Rex, I'm so sorry," she cried as she tried to pull his shaking form towards her. She then screamed out as a whip hitting her in the side.

"No talking," the man growled, watching as Rex moved to try and cover her from anymore hits, "or does your mate need more lashings?"

Ahsoka hissed, trying to pull Rex into her again. "No, master," she muttered, diverting her eyes.

"What was that?" The man hissed, his whip landing against Rex's back again.

"No, master," Ahsoka repeated, making sure it was clear.

"That's what I thought," the man smirked.

-----

His lightsaber felt stout against his hip as he walked, the queens offer ringing around his head. She'd offered it a week ago; he had until nightfall to say his answer.

If he were to stand as her servant and bodyguard, then his friends would be set free.

A hoarse yell caught his attention and walking around the corner; he could see his worse nightmare come true. Rex was crouched over and trying to protect Ahsoka from being hit by the whips. But that wasn't stopping her from hearing the screams and the pain that flooded from Rex.

"Please, master!" Ahsoka begged, shivering under Rex's arms.

"Your mate will do anything to stop you from being hit," the guard hissed as he continued to strike at Rex, "yet you can't seem to do the simplest thing."

"I tripped, master," Ahsoka begged again.

With a final strike, the guard growled over to Ahsoka, "don't do it again."

Ahsoka sobbed as she dragged the nearly unconscious Rex into a corner, trying to curl around him.

Anakin could not keep the tears at bay as he watched his Padawan and Captain.

"Such a shame," the queen spoke as she approached from behind, "all this suffering could be fixed if you just agree."

'Stick to the plan,' Anakin's mind hissed at him, 'the signal will soon be built, and the republic will get the message.'

'But what of your friends?' Another voice hissed, 'will they be slaves before you can act?'

Anakin tried to shake that voice away, but it came back.

'You only have until the sunsets; you can't make the signal by then, and your friends will be sentenced to a life in chains. Master and General, turned slave. Padawan and Commander turned slave and breeder. Captain turned slave and breeder.'

'No, they are stronger than that!' Anakin hissed to the voice.

'But yet look, Ahsoka is begging to her master,' the voice hissed again, 'Rex is doing anything, all to stop your Padawan, the one you failed, from being hurt!'

'They could be lying,' the other voice stated.

'They're not, you know they're not,' the other voice whispered again.

"You don't have long left, you could say it right now and stop their suffering," the queen offered.

"It's a tough decision; I need time," Anakin stated through gritted teeth.

"Only to nightfall, otherwise you all will be slaves," the queen warned as she continued to walk down the path.

-----

Ahsoka hissed as she saw three guards enter. She held the unconscious Rex close to her. The wake-up call was horrible; they'd restrained Rex with three whips, holding him as other lashes slashed down on him.

"Hold her down," one of the guards ordered, the others quick to comply.

The lack of food and exercise had got to Ahsoka as for all she fought; they dragged her away from Rex, pinning her to the floor.

The other guard pulled out a cream, rubbing it into the wounds on Rex's back. "This will prevent infection and death," the man said as he turned towards Ahsoka. "Now, the mates turn. If she is to be a breeder as well as a slave, then she needs to be kept healthy," he spoke as he crouched next to the wiggling Ahsoka.

Ahsoka tried to pull away as he pulled out what looked to be a small gun from his pocket.

"Now this won't hurt at first," the man stated as he ran the gun up and down her, taking notes at the readings it gave out, "adolescent, soon coming into maturity. You haven't been using a whip to train her it seems, no external or external wounds," he stated before he pushed her head away to reveal her neck.

The fun pressing into to her neck, Ahsoka felt something small and nasty enter her skin, right where the usual claim mark would be. It burned with pain, making her whimper, voice box almost unable to work through the pain.

"She's been chipped, let me just do it to him and then I'll be done," the man said as he moved over to do the same to Rex. "Alright, let's go," the man said as he stood up and left the cell.

Ahsoka scrambled over to Rex, trying to shield him with her body as the guards all left the cell. She hissed at anyone that got near the cell door, flashing her fangs at them.

-----

"What was that?" Anakin asked as he watched the silent recording.

"That was your friends this morning," the queen stated, "chipped like the slaves they are. You didn't answer."

"I did answer!" Anakin exclaimed.

"But not in time, the sun had already set when you answered," the queen tutted, "now you are all bound to chains."

Anakin looked down; his fists clenched tight, he'd inadvertently sentenced his friends to slavery. And now he could do nothing about it, not unless he gets that signal working.

"Once the male wakes up, the two will be taken away, ready to be trained for work within the palace," the queen commented.

-----

The 501st was a nervous wreck; the 212th was not much better, but they still had their Commander and Captain. It had been two weeks since they last made contact with any of the Generals, Commander or Captain.

They refused to move from the system until they knew for sure that they were dead, but before that, they were going to keep planning a rescue.

-----

"Have the Jedi moved from the Educational facility here, I'm sure Skywalker wants to see what has happened to his friend," the queen ordered.

The zygerrian nodded before heading off to contact them, reporting that the slave would be there by nightfall.

"Do you hear that, Skywalker? With the two mated having started some of their duties to the palace," the queen asked, "you'll get to see all your friends again. Are you excited?"

"I can not wait," Anakin replied. 'I'll send the signal; they should be able to attack during the night.'

"Now, do try to focus, we have work to do," the queen stated as she got up from her throne to start with her duties.

"Of course," Anakin nodded, hiding his smirk.

-----

The two battalions were buzzing with life, the ships jumping into hyperspeed. General Skywalker had made contact and gave time and location for attack, but he specified medics needed with sedatives.

While they were worried, they were more excited about the prospect of getting them all back to their safety.

- They were working on the way to see whether they could get the Generals, Commander and Captain off significant duty for a while just so that they didn't have the risk of not seeing them in the morning. -

By nightfall, both battalions were ready to attack.

-----

"You seem on edge, Skywalker," the queen commented, continuing when Anakin stayed quiet, "is it that you'll see your friends again?"

"Yes," Anakin answered, "it's been a while since I've laid eyes on them further than a recording."

"Then you shan't wait any longer," the queen stated as she nodded to the guard.

Anakin's eyes widened as Obi-Wan was pushed forwards. He was covered in slashes and burns, arms shaking under his weight. Next was Ahsoka and Rex; the two were attached with a binder around both their stomachs with a short lead.

"Go on, Skywalker, approach your friends."

Anakin wasted no time in hurrying over to them. He got down to his knees where Obi-Wan kneeled, reaching out to touch him on the shoulder, "Obi-Wan?" He whispered when he saw the man flinch back from his touch. He didn't push it again, instead choosing to stay away and in the man's eyesight.

"No, stay back," Obi-Wan stated, his voice hoarse and cracked. "The others need you, not me."

"Ok, Obi-Wan, but I won't leave you completely," Anakin whispered as he shuffled to face Rex and Ahsoka. He knew the need going through Obi-Wan too keep those away from him.

The two could not help but flinch back, the yellow and black uniform flashing danger in their minds. Rex held Ahsoka close as he turned his back and side towards the armour, sheltering her incase a hit came.

Anakin felt his heart drop at the subconscious actions of his friends. One almost panicked and asked for him to stay back, the others didn't recognise him and acted to try to separate themselves from him without moving from where they were instructed to be.

"Come now, Skywalker, you've had your time with your friends," the queen stated.

Anakin sighed as he got to his feet and moved just behind the queen to take up his role of servant and bodyguard.

"Take them away, get the two ready for another set of processing. I think they should start to learn their roles as breeders before she is ready to start," the queen ordered.

Some of the guards pulled out their whips and hit them on the floor in front of Obi-Wan, Ahsoka and Rex before leading them away.

-----

"Skywalker!" The queen shouted over the blaring alarms.

"Yes?" Anakin asked as he hurried into the room.

"I thought you knew you had to be by my side," the queen growled.

"I got caught in a group of guards and pushed to the wall," Anakin stated, his shoulder flaring in pain at the memory.

"How pathetic," the queen hissed, "a Jedi Knight like you pushed to the wall."

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," Anakin bowed.

-----

The moment the alarm blared, Ahsoka and Rex pressed themselves into the corner, the cell door slamming shut and locking them in. The two were shaking as they gripped onto each other, Ahsoka's back tight to the wall, Rex's out in the open, blocking anything that might come there way.

"Come on; the message said they'd be down here!"

"The breeding hall?!"

There was a loud crash, causing Rex and Ahsoka to try and push themselves further away from the noise. Rhythmic beatings of boots came closer—had the guards come to get them?

"Pure and mix testers," they heard muttered.

There, that sounded like their door opening. Rex prized his eyes open to see why the door had opened. Three armoured men were entering the cell. They didn't seem to be carrying any whips, but instead, blasters.

"It's ok, sirs," one of the men whispered.

Rex growled as they tried to reach towards him, his eyes were locked on the weapon. He wanted to make sure it could get nowhere near Ahsoka.

The clone realised what Rex was looking at and slowly slid his weapon away, "it's ok, sirs, I got you." He had to pull his hand back quickly as Rex slashed out.

"It's no use, Fives," another one said, "they'll have to be sedated."

"I wish we got to them before they got to this state, Echo," Fives sighed.

A third one walked forwards, holding two needles in his hands, "do you think you can hold the Captain and Commander down?" He asked.

Echo and Fives shared a look before they quickly jumped at Rex and Ahsoka, thankful for their plastoid armour as they continued to attack and attempt to wriggle from their grip.

"We got them, Kix," Fives stated, "they're weak, fragile."

Kix nodded as he quickly administered the sedative, watching as the two fell into the deep sleep. "I dread to think what state General Kenobi will be in," he sighed.

-----

Cody was leading a small group of Ghost company down to the dungeons, opening the cell doors as they went until they reached one that looked stronger than the others. Prying the door open, Cody could not help but let his jaw drop as he saw the state his General was in as he pressed against the corner walls.

Obi-Wan heard the door open, he flinched, but could not bring himself to look. He didn't want to know what could cause this alarm.

"Sir?" Cody whispered as he crouched in front of Obi-Wan, "are you there? We're here to get you out."

Obi-Wan's eyes flew open as he turned to look directly at Cody, "Co-Cody?" He stuttered, his voice breaking from lack of use.

"I'm here, sir," Cody whispered.

"No, you n-need to go," Obi-Wan stuttered, "the-they-they'll get you as well."

"No, sir," Cody stated, reaching out, touching the flinching and shaking shoulder, "we're getting you out."

Obi-Wan's body sagged the moment Cody touched him. "O-Ok," he nodded, slowly getting to his feet.

Cody rapidly threw Obi-Wan's arm over his shoulder when he saw Obi-Wan's legs go beneath him. "I got you, sir," Cody stated before slowly walking him out.

-----

"You don't want to do this, Skywalker," the queen warned.

"You don't own any of us," Anakin hissed, the room humming with the sound of his blade.

"That's where you're wrong, or do you forget," the queen stated, watching as clones spilt into the room behind Anakin, "you agreed to be the servant and bodyguard so your friends would not have to be, I can not control the fact that you answered too late and put your friends into slavery besides you."

All the clones stilled, Anakin knew they did because he also stilled. He had agreed to be 'owned' by her. But that was only until the signal had done.

"You are surrounded!" The clones shouted, all their blasters aimed at the queen.

"I suggest you back down now, Your Majesty," Anakin stated, his sabre held flat before him.

"But your friends, they're chipped," the queen pointed out, "they won't be able to go anywhere without people knowing they were slaves. That with a push of this button, they will be punished."

The comms exploded into actions as she pressed the button. Shouts of they 'don't know what is going on, that they're fitting'.

"Stop, stop!" Anakin shouted, his blade lowering.

"I think I just heard the servent order the master," the queen tutted, "I thought with your past, no processing would need to be done. Maybe I was incorrect on that assumption?"

Swallowing his pride, Anakin deactivated his blade before lowering his head, "sorry, master."

The queen smiled, removing her hand from the button, "maybe I was correct that a slave never forgets their training."

The clones were frozen in shock, no one knew about the General's past, except the queen seemed to. And she was suggesting that he was a slave.

-----

He brought the parallax into focus, the crosshair on the back of the target's head—breath in, breath out. No wind change at the destination. Breath in, breath out. Gently pull the trigger to its pressure point.

Breath in, breath out.
Pressed.
Blast fired.

"One shot, one kill."

He watches through the scope as the blast breaks through the glass, landing in the queen's head, bringing her down to her knees.

She's gone, his brothers are safe. His sister is free. The General's are unrestricted.

He needs to go before anyone see's him, that made more commotion than he would have liked. It's swift, automatic to take apart the sniper-blaster; it's his job, he's a sharpshot.

He needs no medal, no recognition. Seeing his family, his leaders, his friends free is enough.